If I Keep Wondering 'how Can People Afford Private School?'

"Just over 7.2% of pupils in England attend private schools but make up over a quarter of the intake at the 25 most selective universities, and 46.6% at Oxford . . . However, research carried out for the government has shown that pupils from comprehensives are likely to do better at university than private or grammar school pupils with similar A-level results."

But there are lots of talented kids whose parents can't / won't pay who will be pipped to the top places by richer thickies.

Friend the other day: 'Lots of people can afford private school. It's as little as only six grand a year for one child, and even if it's more, people are prepared to go without just so their child gets the best education blah etc . . .'

I'm getting sick of it of hearing this. But even sicker of myself to clinging on to my experience of private school being seemingly unaffordable to even the middle classes in the late 70's and 80's.

Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless money. After a heady experience of that kind, normally sensible behaviour drift into behaviour akin to that of Cinderella at the ball. They know that overstaying the festivities...will eventually bring on pumpkins and mice. But they nevertheless hate to miss a single minute of what is a helluva party. Therefore, the giddy participants all plan to leave just seconds before midnight. There's a problem, though: They are dancing in a room in which the clocks have no hands."

"Just over 7.2% of pupils in England attend private schools but make up over a quarter of the intake at the 25 most selective universities, and 46.6% at Oxford . . . However, research carried out for the government has shown that pupils from comprehensives are likely to do better at university than private or grammar school pupils with similar A-level results."

But there are lots of talented kids whose parents can't / won't pay who will be pipped to the top places by richer thickies.

Friend the other day: 'Lots of people can afford private school. It's as little as only six grand a year for one child, and even if it's more, people are prepared to go without just so their child gets the best education blah etc . . .'

I'm getting sick of it of hearing this. But even sicker of myself to clinging on to my experience of private school being seemingly unaffordable to even the middle classes in the late 70's and 80's.

Is it just low interest rates keeping these places going?

if you went to a private school then you can only go to a private university... oh, thats already happened!

Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless money. After a heady experience of that kind, normally sensible behaviour drift into behaviour akin to that of Cinderella at the ball. They know that overstaying the festivities...will eventually bring on pumpkins and mice. But they nevertheless hate to miss a single minute of what is a helluva party. Therefore, the giddy participants all plan to leave just seconds before midnight. There's a problem, though: They are dancing in a room in which the clocks have no hands."

A professional couple earning a combined net monthly income of £4,500 who prioritise their childrens education over all else is not beyond the realms of possibility. There are millions of 'professionals'. We looked at sending one private, sending two would be far too much of a stretch and found some of the preparatory schools offered very little more than a good state primary could provide (our primary school takes in 9 pupils a year, not typical and is rated outstanding by Ofstead). A friend of mine facilitates Russians sending their sprogs to our private schools and it is not uncommon for them to pay him the fees upfront (£20k+) and he typically gets discounts in the order of £3-4k to pay up front.

10 years ago we had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope and Johnny Cash - Now we have no Jobs, no Hope and no Cash So, what left? Alcohol.

But in the eight years we lived there we were forced to remortgage three times to keep ­paying the school fees. When we finally sold up in 2008, just before the market fell through the floor, we came out with so little equity that we now have to rent and somehow - in our 40s - save up for a deposit all over again.

Friend the other day: 'Lots of people can afford private school. It's as little as only six grand a year for one child, and even if it's more, people are prepared to go without just so their child gets the best education blah etc . . .'

I don't know if there is anywhere that's six grand a year now .. My old school was one of the worst independents and in the mid 80's it was £5000 a year .. Private schools (especially boarding schools) were subsidised by the fact that they did not have to employ qualified teachers (and thus could pay them nothing) and they did not have to (and still don't) have to comply with the same regulations as state run institutions. Add into this the huge subsidy given to them due to the number of students paid for by the state (children of civil sevants, Army Kids etc ).

My guess is the number who PAY is closer to 3-4%. The main argument for keeping these schools feepaying is that the state would have to educate the pupils if they were closed .. whereas for every private paying pupil there is one the state is paying for, without that subsidy most independeny schools would close ..

A professional couple earning a combined net monthly income of £4,500 who prioritise their childrens education over all else is not beyond the realms of possibility. There are millions of 'professionals'. We looked at sending one private, sending two would be far too much of a stretch and found some of the preparatory schools offered very little more than a good state primary could provide (our primary school takes in 9 pupils a year, not typical and is rated outstanding by Ofstead). A friend of mine facilitates Russians sending their sprogs to our private schools and it is not uncommon for them to pay him the fees upfront (£20k+) and he typically gets discounts in the order of £3-4k to pay up front.

Many can't afford to continue sending their children to private school, a good state school is better than a poor private school...if your kids are bright they will make it to what they want to be whatever, private school is a more of who you meet than what you learn.

A couple of mothers I know are working full time to support their kids in private school, they obviously think it is important and therefore make sacrifices for their children's future....

My linkFriend the other day: 'Lots of people can afford private school. It's as little as only six grand a year for one child, and even if it's more, people are prepared to go without just so their child gets the best education blah etc . . .'

I'm getting sick of it of hearing this.

Is it just low interest rates keeping these places going?

I do think that there is some truth in this, a lot of people can afford it, even at the very high end: £30k per year for private boarding schools. But even at the lower end £6k per year at primary level, people can afford it or are willing to make that sacrifice. I also think that some sections of society will make larger sacrifices to ensure a good education at a significant disadvantage to themselves. Also when looking at some boarding schools and top tier universities, foreign parents see a benefit in sending their kids to them - well known and internationally extremely well respected universites do hold a significant appeal.

Personally I find it amazing but for some parents sending a kid from 8yrs to 18 to a boarding school at a cost of £300k and then university is something that they can easily afford to do, so a couple of kids is going to cost you at least £1million in pretax income.

I would agree that interest rates being low probably does help, I would guess there are some parents who are on IO mortgages currently paying a tiny amount and either banking the extra for future fees or spending it on school fees.